Folding table legs with actuator mechanism



Aug. 15, 1950 N. M. HISER FOLDING TABLE LEGS WITH ACTUATOR MECHANISM Filed March 17, 1947 2 SheetsSheet 1 [VobZe/f. H55 2? ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 15, 1950 4 1 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOLDING TABLE LEGS- WITH ACTUATOR MECHANISM Noble M. Hiser, Tucson, Ariz.

Application March 1'7, 1947, Serial No. 735,073

4 Claims. 1

This invention appertains to improvements in folding tables generally, and more particularly in the table disclosed in my Letters Patent of the United States, dated June 23, 1936, No. 2,645,467, which features foldable legs that are automatically locked in service position when moved to such position from normally folded state substantially parallel to the under side of the top, the legs being interconnected to move in unison when manipulated from any one of them to either the service or folded positions.

The primary object of the invention is to greatly simplify the leg interconnecting and operating means, as well as the locking mechanism,

thus making for greater convenience and ease in leg manipulation and release of the lock mechanism, and reduction in the cost of manufacture.

With this and other objects and advantages of equal importance in view, the invention resides in the certain new and useful combination, construction, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of the improved table, in accordance with the invention, showing the legs in unfolded state;

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, bottom plan view of a corner portion of the table, showing the locking mechanism and the button release therefor;

Figure 3 is a vertical section, taken through the line 33 on Figure 2, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is another vertical section, but taken through the line 4-4 on Figure 3, looking in the edges thereof. Each of the legs I4 is pivoted, as

at I6, to an angled bracket [8, secured to the inner side of the flange [2, adjacent a corner thereof, and in a manner that the several legs swing in the same general direction from and to folded positions parallel to the under side of the top H! and to the adjacent side sections of theflange.

Mounted on the inner side of each side section of the flange I2, is a guide bar 26, which is secured at one end, as' at 22, in a manner that a major portion of its length extends horizontally in spaced parallel relation to the flange section, and has its other end terminating adjacent the point of pivot of one of the legs M. Slidable on each bar 29, is a sleeve 24, having one of its ends connected by a brace bar 23 to the leg, one end of the brace bar being pivoted, as at 26, to the sleeve, and its other end, as at 30, to the leg. Thus, reversed directional movements of each sleeve 24, along a guide bar 29, will, through the brace bar 28, swing the leg from and to its normally folded position within the confines of the flange I2.

In order to have the legs M to move in unison, when manipulated from and to normally folded position, a pair of cross-arms 32 are pivoted, as at 34, at their point of crossing and centrally of the under side of the top Ill, while each cross-arm has one of its ends slotted, as at 36, and engaged on a pivot pin 38 carried by a pair of ears Ml, formed on the inner end of the sliding sleeve 24. The ends of the cross-arms 32, inwardly of the slots 36, are interconnected by bars 42, which have the adjacent of their ends commonly riveted, as at 44, thereto. Thus, by grasping any one of the legs i l and swinging it on its pivot I6, the other legs are correspondingly swung to either folded or unfolded position, the motion of the one leg being transmitted to the others through the medium of the brace bars 28, the sliding sleeves 24, and the cross-arms 32, as is obvious.

Toeffect the automatic locking of the legs M in their service, i. e., unfolded, positions, a looking mechanism is provided and is made up of a separate unit that is cooperative with each of the sliding sleeves 2A to that end, the units being interconnected for simultaneous operation concurrently with the movement of the legs from folded to service positions. As best shown in Figure 1, each locking unit is comprised in an arm 46 extending inwardly from each side section of the flange I 2, the inner ends of the several arms terminating to one side of the central pivot 3 with those of opposite pairs of the same pivotally interconnected by bars or links 48, the latter crossing each other and engaged on the pivot 34 at their point of crossing. The links 48, at opposite sides of the pivot 3 are interconnected by coil springs 55, which act to hold the arms 46 under tension, in an outward direction, at all times.

The outer end of each of the arms 46 is slidably engaged in a substantially tubular guide element 52, secured on the under side of the top Hi, immediately inward of the flange I2, it being provided with a longitudinally extending slot 54 in its lower side to form a guide for a lug 56 which is formed on the like side of the arm and adapted to engage a second lug 5'3, projecting upwardly from a lockingbolt 69, housed for sliding movement Within a casing 68 mounted on the inner side of the sliding; sleeve 24; the casing having'a guide slot in its upper side through which the lug 58 rises in the path of the lug 56. The outer end of the casing 68 is closed by the wall of the sliding sleeve 24 from which it is supported, and that wall is provided with an opening 64 (Fig. 4) for themovement therethrough of a reduced portion 62 of the outer end of the bolt 60 to and from engagement with an aperture 66, formed in the guide bar 2% A coil spring 12 is housed within the casing 58 behind the bolt 60 to urge ittoward sleeve locking position, the reduced portion 62 riding along-the guide bar 28 during the reversed directional movements of the sleeve caused by the unfolding and folding motions-of the legs l4. With the movement of the legs M to service positions, the sleeves 2 1 are moved along the guide bars 20 until the openings 64 register with the apertures 66, when, by reason of the urge of the coil= springs l2, on the bolts 653, the reduced portions 62 are urged into engagement with the apertures 66, thus locking the sleeves and, consequently, the legsin place.

To effect the release of the locking mechanism, as thus constructed and arranged, the outer end of each of the guide elements 52 is aligned with a slot 14 (Fig. 4), formed in the adjacent: side of the flange l2 and" opening into the upper closed end. of a socket 16, which has its lower end opening outwardly of the lower edge of the flange to receive a plunger 1:8, constituting a push-button, the latter having its upper end supported from a coil spring 8E! and slotted, as at 82, for the pivoting therein, as at 84, of an end of a short bar 86', that projects outwardly through the slot 14 to engage with the end of a complemental portion of the bolt release arms 46', whenever the plunger or push-button is depressed. With the depression of any one of'the plungers or push-buttons 18, the bar 86 connected therewith pushes against the opposed end of the arm 48, thereby causing the withdrawal of all of the bolts 5!! from the apertures 66 and the freeing ofthe several. sliding sleeves 2'4 for the movement of the legs M to normally folded condition, the motion imparted to the one arm 46 being transmitted to all of the others through the links it, interconnecting the innerends thereof. With the legs l4. disposed in their normally folded positions, the locking bolts 6:! are withheld from any locking effect by the riding of the reduced end portions 62' hearing against the guide bars 26, and the withdrawal of thesame from looking engagement with the apertures E5 is efiected through the interaction of the lugs 56 and 58.

Another method to efiect the release of the looking mechanism is by means of an angled fingerpiece 88 which is attached to the release arms 46. When this angle finger-piece 88 is pressed away from the flange 12 the same motion is transmitted tov the other three arms 4'6 through the link 48 causing the withdrawal of all of the bolts 54 from the apertures 6i; and freeing the several sliding-sleeves 24' for the movement of the legs M to a normally folded condition.

Having thus fully described a preferred embodiment of myinvention and: its mode of opera- 4 tion, it is believed to be obvious that I have provided a practical and efficient folding leg construction for tables and a convenient and efiective locking mechanism, which greatly facilitates the setting up and taking down of tables of this type, and, it is to be understood, that the words which I have used are Words of description rather than of limitation, and that changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made, without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention in its broader aspects.

' I claim:

1. A foldable table comprising a square top, flange sections depending from the side edges of said top, a leg hingedly supported from the inner side of each of the side sections of said flange immediatelyad-jacent the corners thereof, a guide bar mounted horizontally on the inner side of each of said flange sections in proximity to the leg supported therefrom, a tubular element slidable on; each guide bar, a brace member extending between and pivotally connecting each tubular element and the proximal of said legs, means interconnecting said tubular elements to cause the same and said legs to move in unison when any one of the legs is manipulated to and from normally folded positions, each of said flange sections" having a socket opening through, its lower edge in proximity to the adjacent of said guide bars, a locking bolt, a housing supporting the same on the inner side of each of said tubular elements, each of said guide bars having an aperture adapted to receive a locking bolt when said legs are disposed in their service positions, a coil spring in each said housing cooperative with each locking bolt to force the same into said aperture when a bolt and an aperture are brought into registry, a plunger supported within each of said sockets, means operable by said plunger for effecting the simultaneous release of said bolts to free said legs for return to normally folded positions.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 with a pair ofspaced ears carried by each of said tubular elements, a pivot pin carried by each pair of said ears, and the first named means including a pair of cross arms joined together at their centers and having their outer ends slotted and engaging said pivot pins.

3;The invention as defined in claim 1 with the housing for each of said locking bolts having a slot in its top side, a projection on the top side of each locking bolt extending upwardly through said slot for guided movement therein, said means operable by a plunger comprising a guide member secured on the inner side of each flange section in overlying relation to each housing and an arm having its outer end engaged in each said guide member, a lug depending from the lower side of each said arm into the path of movement of each said projection, means pivotally interconnecting the inner ends of each of said arms for simultaneous movement therewith to cause said lugs to engage with said projections to withdraw said bolts from sleeve looking positions, upon the actuation of any one of said plungers. I

' 4. A foldable table comprising a top, a flange depending from the edge of saidtop, legs hingedly supported from the inner side of said flange in equidistantly spaced relation, an elongatedguide element mounted horizontally on the inner side of said flange in proximity to each leg, a sliding member slidably supported on each guide element, a first means interconnecting each leg'with 5 7 an adjacent sliding member, a second means interconnecting said sliding members to cause the same and said legs to move in unison when any one of the legs is manipulated to and from normally folded position, spring latch means carried by each of said sliding members to lock them to their Supporting guides when the legs are in service position, a rotatable member mounted on the under side of the table top, rods having finger pieces thereon extending from the rotatable member to said spring latch means, elements connecting the rods to the spring latch means, respectively, whereby when said rods are moved in one direction said latch means are unlocked, a third means normally holding the rods against movement, and a fourth means on said flange for actuating any one of the rods manually to retract said latch means.

NOBLE M. I-IISER.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

